Authentication

Identity · Beginner

The act of proving that a person or system is the identity it claims to be, using evidence such as a secret, a device, or a biometric measurement.

It answers who is asking. A password, a security key, or a certificate can be evidence. It does not, by itself, decide what that identity may do.

Example: A user proves an account is theirs with a password and a phone prompt. That successful check is authentication.

Common misconception

Proving identity is not the same step as deciding which files that identity may open.